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FAQ: What Are the Types of Checkpoints You Can Use for Tours (NFC, Barcode, QR, GPS, Virtual)?

Johnny Page
  • Updated

In this article we will anser the frequently asked question, what are the types of checkpoints you can use for tours?

NOTE: Tours are used to generate a report listing “checkpoints” completed by a user. There are various ways to setup how checkpoints are logged depending what the client can utilize or needs to see in the reports. 

As you read through these possibilities, remember that although the software has many functions it is our duty to be creative in suggesting the correct solution to the client. Many of these features can be use in combination to create a Tour not outlined within these notes. 

 

Tour Management 

When you create a Tour, it is set at the Location level, or 2nd level in the Client/Account hierarchy. This means that any Posts nested under this Location will inherit the same Tours. 

In this example of a Client/Account Structure, Security Posts under the 2 - Location Alpha will share the same Tours. Where the Security Post under 2 – Location Beta will have their own. The same applies to Activity/Incident Templates. This is important because the m-Post license is associated with the Security Post. Even though the Security Post has its own logbook, they will be able to see Tours that may only apply to other Sites or Posts that share the same Location. 

 

Tag Based Tours 

Checkpoints can be triggered by “Tags” placed around the area to be patrolled. The officer will be presented with a list of checkpoints in a tour and will use the device to scan the tag of each checkpoint. The list can be done in any order and each checkpoint can be linked to an Activity Template and/or a Post Order. 

NFC Tags 

The most common setup is the standard NFC Tag based tour. Users on m-Post will be given a list of checkpoints to go to and use the NFC reader on their device to confirm they have visited this checkpoint. This setup relies heavy on the type of device the user is using to perform the tour. Not all devices will have the built in NFC reader, especially the cheaper end phones that security contractors lean towards. It is important to make sure the client does their own research before they purchase any devices for this method. 

Some clients may refer to these as RFID or “Detex”, which have been used by other similar solutions. It is important to understand an NFC is a specific frequency and while some RFID share this frequency, they are not the same. Detex is a specific brand that uses a RFID system. There is an article from our Help Center with some specifics to which NFC tags will work with our software, seen here. 

Pros: 

  • Can be painted over to hide 
  • Can be sourced from many suppliers (https://gototags.com/, or from Amazon.com) 
  • Can be used to trigger Activities/Tours automatically 

Cons: 

  • Cannot be place on some metallic surfaces, causes interference with the reader 
  • Can be removed if not properly secured 
  • Dependent on device capability 

QR Codes 

A cheaper alternative to NFC tags are QR Codes. These are a standard coding system used by many optical scanning technologies. Like scanning barcodes at the grocery store, the officer can use the smartphone camera to scan the QR code to confirm they visited a checkpoint. This opens the door to many cheaper device alternatives as it only requires a camera which almost all Android devices will have. 

It is important to understand that there is a URL embedded in the QR code that needs to be a specific format for our m-Post app to read properly. Therefore, the code is to be generated by our Support team. The code can then be converted to a QR Code image ready to be printed. 

Note: There is a setting in m-Post to enable QR Codes, so each device the client has will need this setting manually turned on. See this article from our Help Center for more instructions: Adding a QR Code as a Tour Checkpoint 

Pros: 

  • Cheaper checkpoints 
  • Allows for cheaper devices (No NFC reader Required) 
  • Can be printed on various materials 

Cons: 

  • The code embedded must be generated from Trackforce Support 
  • Less reliable for Officer Accountability as they can easily duplicate the image 
  • Camera needs clear focused view of code to read 

Enforcing Officer Accountability 

Both options for Tag based tours have the possibility that someone can try to fool the system by removing or duplicating the tags. This can lead to the officer being able to scan the tags from another location and make it seem like they were doing their job properly. There are two solutions to combat this using GPS:  

  1. Passive: Enable “Activate GPS Position (for each tag)” 
  1. This will include their location every time they scan a tag. The report will show that they are either at the correct location or elsewhere. This is the passive check because you will not know until after the fact. 
  1. Aggressive: Enable “Send Anomaly When GPS Position is Missed” and set the GPS Coordinates of each tag/checkpoint. 
  1. This will check their location and compare it to where you told the system you placed the tag. If it is not within the “Reading Perimeter” of these coordinates, then it will send an Anomaly which can also trigger a notification to the Supervisors. 

GPS Based Tours 

If the tour will be mostly performed in an outdoor environment (i.e. No obstructions from GPS satellites), then another cheaper alternative to NFC is to utilize the location services on the device. The strength of the GPS connection can vary from model to model and it is always good to test for any dead zones or interference with third-party apps like this one: GPS Test. 

GPS Triggered Checkpoints 

Similar functionality to a Tag based Tour, but instead of scanning a tag, you are using the devices location to “scan” a checkpoint. For each Tag you will need to enable “GPS Triggered checkpoint”, set the “Reading perimeter” (50-150 Feet is typical), and then drop a pin on the map to mark the coordinates. With this method you can still link Activity Templates and Post orders to each checkpoint. 

Pros: 

  • No cost to setup checkpoints 
  • Officers cannot try to fool system 
  • Allows for cheaper devices (No NFC reader required) 

Cons: 

  • Works at the mercy of a GPS signal; Indoor use would not be recommended 
  • Can be time consuming to setup all the checkpoints 

Position Tracking Only 

This method is different from all the other options described so far because there is no set number of checkpoints. When you enable “Is position tracking only” for a Tour, you will only set a “Position tracking interval” in seconds. Every interval, the device will log its current position as a checkpoint until the officer ends the Tour. Notice there are no options for the individual checkpoints with this enabled (i.e. No Linked Reports or Post Orders) 

This is a good option for mobile officers (e.g. Officers on bicycles or driving a vehicle). Since there is no tag to scan, the checkpoints are automated by the interval set. The added benefit being they would not have to stop to scan something or visit specific locations. 

Pros: 

  • No cost to setup checkpoints 
  • Officers cannot try to fool system 
  • Allows for cheaper devices (No NFC reader required) 

Cons: 

  • Dependent on a good GPS signal; Indoor use would not be recommended 
  • No linking Activity Templates or Post Orders 

“On Sight” Based Tours 

Another atypical setup would be to simply allow the officer to manually confirm their progress in a tour. No Tag to scan or GPS to confirm location, puts a lot of trust into the officer performing these types of Tours. There are some uses for this, but this is a setting that is enabled by a User Right. Meaning that this user will be able to manually update their progress in all Tours. Proceed with this setup with caution as it is best it kept to Support for Testing purposes. 

Long Press Function 

By Allowing the User Right CAN_CHECK_STRIPS_ON_SIGHT, the user can click and hold on a checkpoint during a tour to mock scanning the tag. The User Right can be added to a specific User ID, a User Group, or at the Role level. This is great for when demonstrating a Tour or testing for yourself as you don’t need the NFC/QR/GPS to trigger the checkpoint. 

When coupling this with the “Activate GPS Position (for each tag)” enabled, you could use this to have the office log their position at their own discretion. You will need to add a “Tag S/N” if you plan to create dummy tags in order for the system to identify the checkpoint properly. The S/N can be any string of text or numbers, as long as it is unique to each checkpoint and cannot be blank. 

Pros: 

  • No cost to setup checkpoints 
  • Allows for cheaper devices (No NFC reader or camera required) 

Cons: 

  • Very little officer accountability 
  • Can only be enabled by granting a User Right, so it applies to all tours the use has access to 

Additional Tour Features 

Linked Reports 

Each checkpoint can be linked to a specific Activity Template from the Client’s Location. This can be very useful for situations that require a check list to be done on multiple items. For example, a client may be responsible for checking the condition of all fire extinguishers in an area. One Activity Template can cover all the checks the officer should perform when inspecting a fire extinguisher, and they can create a tour with NFC/QR codes placed near each station. By linking the Activity Template to the Tags, an officer can be presented with a list of locations where the extinguishers are located and then a checklist to complete for each one. 

Linked Post Orders 

Similar to Linking Reports, you can also link a specific Post Order to a checkpoint. This will allow the office to have quick access to relevant information that may be too large to try and fit in the checkpoint Instructions/comments field. It may also be useful to include instructional videos or PDFs if the officer may need to pull up a user manual for a nearby machine or access codes to doors/gates. 

Scheduling Tours 

Automating the client’s workforce is among the top reasons to use Trackforce solution, and scheduling tours is one of the most common ways to not only automate the workforce but also another way to enforce officer accountability. 

By setting a Tour Schedule, the officer logged into m-Post will receive a notification when it is time to start a Tour. If the Tour is not started within the “Grace Period” of the scheduled tour, an anomaly is triggered and can be coupled with a notification to a Supervisor. 

See this article from our Help Center on how to schedule Tours: Scheduling Tours 

Tour Notifications 

Email and in some cases SMS notifications can be triggered by actions surrounding Tours. The most popular notification to setup is the “Incomplete Tours Only” event. This setting is paired with the “Minimum # of tags for Complete Tour” value; When the minimum is not met and the end of a Tour, a notification can be sent to the Supervisor. If the Tour is Scheduled you can also setup alerts for when a Tour is late. You can also just have the completed Tour Report emailed upon completion with the “All Tours” event, but this may not be practical depending of the frequency and volume of tours completed. An Automatic Report may be a better solution for getting a compiled report of activity through the day. 

See this article from our Help Center on how to configure Tour notifications: Tour Notifications 

Copy & Merge Tours 

There are a couple tricks you can perform with these tools when managing Tours. Copying a Tour will duplicate a Tour with its Checkpoints to another location or within the same location. Merging will combine the selected Tours into a new Tour. 

Copying can be useful if you want to break one master Tour into smaller tours, by making duplicates and removing checkpoints from a copy to make a subset of a Tour. 

Merging Tours can be useful if someone mistakenly created a new Tour when they meant to add checkpoints to an existing Tour at their location. 

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